Fla. Supreme Court asked to rule on gay marriage

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida's highest court is being asked to rule on whether the state's ban on gay marriage is constitutional.

A majority of judges with the state's 2nd District of Appeal on Wednesday asked the Florida Supreme Court to settle the question due to "great public importance."

The ruling is connected to a divorce case involving a same-sex couple who had been married in Massachusetts. Their petition to dissolve their marriage was rejected by a Florida judge who noted that state law does not recognize gay marriage.

Voters approved the ban in 2008.

But judges in four Florida counties — Palm Beach, Monroe, Miami-Dade and Broward— have overturned the ban. Last week a federal judge also overturned the ban. No marriage licenses have been issued so far.